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Children's Books Made into Movies

To help with the Summer Reading Bingo board, Leanna and I have came up with 10 books that were made into movies to help you out. We have all of the books and movies in the library, so come in and check them out if you are interested!

"Jumanji" by Chris Van Allsburg


Left on their own for an afternoon, two bored and restless children find more excitement than they bargained for in a mysterious and mystical jungle-adventure board game. "Mr. Van Allsburg's illustrations have a beautiful simplicity of design, balance, texture, and a subtle intelligence beyond the call of illustration."

"Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst


The perennially popular tale of Alexander's worst day is a storybook that belongs on every child's bookshelf.


Alexander knew it was going to be a terrible day when he woke up with gum in this hair.


And it got worse...


His best friend deserted him. There was no dessert in his lunch bag. And, on top of all that, there were lima beans for dinner and kissing on TV!


Judith Viorst's classic picture book is sure to charm readers of all ages.

"Wonderstruck" by Brian Selznick


Ben and Rose secretly wish for better lives. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.


Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures weave back and forth in symmetry.



"A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle


It was a dark and stormy night.


Out of this wild night, a strange visitor comes to the Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe on a most dangerous and extraordinary adventure — one that will threaten their lives and our universe.


Winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal, A Wrinkle in Time is the first book in Madeleine L'Engle's classic Time Quintet.


"Coraline" by Neil Gaiman


The day after they moved in, Coraline went exploring....


In Coraline's family's new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close.


The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.


Only it's different.


At first, things seem marvelous in the other flat. The food is better. The toy box is filled with wind-up angels that flutter around the bedroom, books whose pictures writhe and crawl and shimmer, little dinosaur skulls that chatter their teeth. But there's another mother, and another father, and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.


Other children are trapped there as well, lost souls behind the mirrors. Coraline is their only hope of rescue. She will have to fight with all her wits and all the tools she can find if she is to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself.


Critically acclaimed and award-winning author Neil Gaiman will delight readers with his first novel for all ages.

"The Night at the Museum" by Milan Trenc


Here is the original inspiration for the blockbuster "Night At The Museum" movies starring Ben Stiller from 20th Century Fox. In this charming, funny picture book that started it all, Larry becomes a night guard at New York's Museum of Natural History. He thinks it's going to be an easy job, but is he in for a surprise. After dozing off, he wakes up to find the most amazing vanishing act in the museum's history. The museum's entire collection of dinosaur skeletons has disappeared! In a panic, Larry rushes from one room to the next then dashes outside into Central Park, and then next door into the planetarium. Where did the skeletons go? Who is the dinosaur thief? How in the world will Larry ever get those dinosaur bones back? Originally published by Barron's in 1993, this mystery-comedy picture book features the author's original captivating, hilarious, full-color illustrations on every page.

"Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak


Max, a wild and naughty boy, is sent to bed without his supper by his exhausted mother. In his room, he imagines sailing far away to a land of Wild Things. Instead of eating him, the Wild Things make Max their king.


"Mr. Popper's Penguins" by Richard and Florence Atwater


The Poppers unexpectedly come into possession of a penguin, then get a penguin from the zoo who mates with the first penguin to have 10 baby penguins. Before long, something must be done before they eat the Poppers out of house and home!


A classic of American humor, this story of a gentle housepainter and his high stepping penguins has delighted children for generations.


"Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo


Kate DiCamillo's first published novel, like Winn-Dixie himself, immediately proved to be a keeper — a New York Times bestseller, a Newbery Honor winner, the inspiration for a popular film, and most especially, a cherished classic that touches the hearts of readers of all ages.


The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket — and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of WAR AND PEACE. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar.


Opal spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship — and forgiveness — can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm.

"Beezus and Ramona" by Beverly Cleary


Nine-year-old Beezus Quimby has her hands full with her little sister, Ramona. Sure, other people have little sisters that bother them sometimes, but is there anyone in the world like Ramona? Whether she's taking one bite out of every apple in a box or secretly inviting 15 other 4-year-olds to the house for a party, Ramona is always making trouble and getting all the attention. Every big sister can relate to the trials and tribulations Beezus must endure. Old enough to be expected to take responsibility for her little sister, yet young enough to be mortified by every embarrassing plight the precocious preschooler gets them into, Beezus is constantly struggling with her mixed-up feelings about the exasperating Ramona.

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